Etiopia: Contribution to the improvement of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for the Webi Shebele, Awash and Danakil Watersheds

DSSTTA’s strategy aims to promote active participation in international research and development programmes, focusing on the creation and consolidation of high-level scientific collaborations towards a position of excellence of our Institution in Africa. In Ethiopia there is the Agreement between CNR-DSSTTA and AICS for the EU-AICS Delegation in Ethiopia, whose role, in collaboration with other Institutes of the Institution, will be to support Ethiopia in the implementation of an integrated water resources management system in order to allocate and use water efficiently, sustainably in line with the UN 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development and the Mattei Plan.

On 30/07/2024, the Department of Earth System Sciences and Technologies for the Environment of the CNR (DSSTTA) signed an important Agreement with AICS (Italian Development Cooperation Agency) within the framework of the Agreement no. NDICI AFRICA/2023/446-909 in Ethiopia. The Agreement, for a total value of 15 million euro fully funded by the European Union, signed on 11/12/2023 by the Acting Head of Cooperation at the Delegation of the European Union in Ethiopia, provides for the implementation of the Programme: ‘Contribution to the improvement of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM)’.

The CNR-AICS Convention was funded with a €3,384,000 grant with the aim of making a valuable contribution to the improvement of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) for the Webi Shebele, Awash and Danakil Watersheds, through strengthening knowledge of management practices and capacity for gap analysis of hydrological, hydrogeological and infrastructural data.

The CNR-DSTTA, through collaboration and synergy with CNR IRSA and CNR IIA, will provide technical assistance in achieving the following objectives over the next four years:

• Strengthen the institutional and governance capacities and tools of the Ministry of Water and Power (MoWE), Basin Offices and Regional Bureaux;
• Strengthen the institutional sustainability of Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) through the implementation of IWRM-ICT infrastructure and the implementation of its management process;
• Increase awareness and understanding of local communities on Integrated Water Resources Management (IWRM) adapted to climate change.

The project is the result of a long period of work coordinated by the Department’s International Cooperation Office (DSSTTA), together with the support of the IRSA and IIA Institutes, with the aim of strengthening the presence of our Institution in Africa and initiating a path of cooperation in key sectors for the development of the African continent. Specifically, the project is committed to improving water governance and decision-making, stimulating the development of innovative solutions for more efficient water resource management processes.

Africa has long been a top priority of Italian foreign policy, today more than ever with the launch of the Mattei Plan. The relationship with the countries of the continent and its organisations is now based on an equal partnership, oriented towards shared development and tackling together the many global challenges, including that of water. The CNR’s focus on Africa is geared towards ensuring the permanence and strengthening of our scientific network, contributing in a decisive way to mobilising greater resources towards the Continent, through participation in projects, the setting up of bilateral agreements and the activation of scientific exchanges.

Ethiopia is today one of the key countries for the development of the African Continent and the most important outcome of this project, with the support of the NRC, is for the Ethiopian Ministry of Water and Energy (MoWE) to continue on its path of building the National Integrated Water Resources Management Programme (NIWRMP) in line with the Ethiopian government’s development framework outlined in the Ethiopian ‘10-Year Development Plan (2021-2030)’ and ‘Indigenous Economic Reform (HGER)’.

In this perspective, strengthening the transfer of skills and knowledge with the support of the CNR, will not only ensure positive spin-offs on scientific-technological advancement in Integrated Water Management in Ethiopia, but will also contribute to the strengthening of skills in this sector that can be shared with other African countries in Africa, with returns in high value-added sectors.